1. Field of the Invention
This invention in general relates to the field of optical recording systems and media and, in particular, to an optical storage system using media comprising integral near-field optics by which means a greater resolution and storage density is attained in the processes of writing to and reading from a recording layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In near-field optical applications, splitting off the total internal reflection (TIR) surface from the aplanatic immersion lens in an imaging objective and integrating it with the object to be viewed is taught in Guerra, Applied Optics 1990 and SPIE 1988, and in a flexible form (transducer) in Guerra, J. M., Flexible Transducers for Photon Tunneling Microscopes and Methods for Making and Using Same, U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,443, Sep. 20, 1994 assigned to Polaroid Corp., Guerra, J. M., Stereoscopic Photon Tunneling Microscope, U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,443, Aug. 15, 1995 assigned to Polaroid Corp, and Guerra, J. M., Method for Making Flexible Transducers for Use with Photon Tunneling Microscopes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,558, Jan. 16, 1996. Assigned to Polaroid Corp. Improvements and extensions of that split TIR concept are claimed and will be shown herein.
While the art describes a number of optical storage systems, there remains a need for improvements that offer advantages and capabilities not found in presently available instruments, and it is a primary object of this invention to provide such improvements.
It is another object of the invention to provide for an optical storage system for reading and writing utilizing evanescent field resolution.
It is another object of the invention to facilitate use of a stable integral evanescent field for multilevel, multi-layer, surface plasmon, resonant near-field, diffractive near-field, phase-resolved, wavelength (spectral, fluorescence) and/or other writing and reading techniques.
It is another object of the invention to provide an optical storage system that can be either epi-illuminated, dark-field illuminated, or phase-controlled illuminated.
It is another object of the invention to provide a small-format optical storage system for nomadic personal digital applications.
It is another object of the invention to provide an optical storage system that rivals or surpasses the data access speed and density of non-removable hard disc drives.
It is another object of the invention to provide the foregoing features to any of a disc, a tape, or a photo-active layer.
It is another object of the invention to integrate light source, optics, diffraction grating, detector, into a flying head.
It is another object of the invention to use said integrated head in other applications, such as in lithography, in a print head in graphic arts, or as a medical sensor, or as a medical energy delivery device.
Other objects of the invention will be obvious, in part, and, in part, will become apparent when reading the detailed description to follow.